


TMNT - Autumn

by Euria



Series: Fluffy Moments (Raphael and Leonardo) [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-10-26 18:10:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20746532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euria/pseuds/Euria
Summary: Autumn is there! A cold season when it comes to weather, yet such a warm one, when it comes to all the things that happens within a home; that we more than often call: Family. Indulging in old memories Splinter decides that his sons need a break. But when everyone determines to spend their time reading a book, Raphael feels kind of left out. Leonardo has an idea, yet will his younger brother like it or throw a tantrum?





	1. The decision

**Author's Note:**

> A happy first day of autumn to you all!!! Grab your hot coffee, tea, cocoa or chocolate and have fun while reading a book or watching a movie.

It was the 23rd of September and thus the beginning of autumn. Only that the season decided to start much earlier; not respecting the deadline in the calendar. Almost all the trees in Central Park where already painted in golden yellow, fiery orange and red or soothing brown, occasionally still wearing a splash or two of green - a silent reminder of past summer days. Yet the sky was still free of grey clouds and pounding rain. Only the idle wind, carrying the first silver strings, gently played the melody of winter yet to come.

A strange feeling of longing filled Splinters heart, while looking at the photos of this park that April brought him. The autumn back in japan was a dream of colors, too. He remembered it well: back than he truly loved to take walks and absorb this remarkable beauty into his body and soul. Yes, a stroll in bright daylight, between colorful crowns or those heavily decorated with scarlet rowan berries; this, exactly this is what his sons never experienced. The rat dad had at least memories he could fall back on, but his turtles were not that lucky: Because here in the sewers nothing was like that; like the endless sea of stories and secrets each tree seemingly wanted to tell. 

**Splinter:** Leonardo, please come into my room I need to speak with you.

**Leonardo: **Hai, Sensei.

At the very first moment the leader thought he had done something wrong. It was very unusual for their father to call one of them in the middle of the day. Raphael and Donatello, who were sitting on the opposite side of the room, thought so, too.

**Donatello: **What do you think?

**Raphael: **Seriously? I don’t know. Everything was o.k. till now. We even didn’t quarrel or something and that’s rare.

**Donatello: **Maybe we just didn't saw or heard anything?

**Raphael: **How high are the chances that he had done something to anger our father on a completely calm day?

**Donatello:** Well that could be the problem. We are not training or on a mission, just sitting around. And Leo is the leader, so it is his job to make our asses move.

**Raphael:** There is one flaw in your theory, genius. It was Splinter himself who told us to stay home and take a break today. He hardly can punish Leo for that.

**Donatello:** Oh, right.

**Raphael:** Genius, my ass.

**Donatello:** Hey! I’ve heard that!

**Raphael:** You supposed to.

Meanwhile in Splinters room Leonardo was sitting like on hot needles. The young turtle still did not know why his father was upset with him. He assumed that this was the case, since the old rat was silent till now and this was always a bad sing.

**Leonardo: **Sensei?

**Splinter: **Patience, my son.

**Leonardo: **Hai.

After a cup of tea, which was very unpleasant for Leo, since he still was left in the darkness, Splinter finally spoke.

**Splinter: **I was thinking; about my past and my present, but mostly about my four little turtles. Well, not so little anymore, but still very young. What have you seen of this world? Nothing at all. I would like to change this, but I can't. That's why I decided that we all need a little vacation. We will spend three weeks in April's farmhouse; just enjoying the beauty of autumn. No training. This, at least, I can ensure. So, what do you think?

**Leonardo: **What I think? I think that’s a great idea! Thank you, father! To be honest, I thought you are angry at me. At the beginning, I mean.

**Splinter: **Is there a reason, why I should be?

**Leonardo: **No, no, no, no! Not at all!

**Splinter: **Very good. And now go and tell your brothers that they shall pack their bags. We leave in an hour.

**Leonardo: **Already?

**Splinter: **Yes.

A few moments later he could hear four very happy boys rushing to their rooms - Autumn sure was a magical season.


	2. The book conspiracy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the second chapter! The third one will be the last one and I hope I'm ready to post it on 25th September.

Since the little family had to travel by night, they arrived at the farmhouse on 24th September on early morning. The sun just touched the horizon and the air was still a little chilly, but not uncomfortable. As Splinter expected all the trees changed their color. He would like to go for a walk right now, yet there was much to do. The farmhouse was basically uninhabited, so no one cleaned it.

**Splinter: **First, we clean up. Then we will bring our stuff inside. Any questions?

**Leonardo: **No, Sensei.

**Raphael: **I’m not cleaning the bathroom! I still have nightmares after our bigfoot adventure.

**Donatello: **I'll do it then.

**Leonardo: **Would you like to clean up the bedrooms or the living room then?

**Raphael: **The living room. After that I go and chop some wood for the fireplace.

**Leonardo: **Alright; then I will do the bedrooms and Mikey of course the kitchen.

**Splinter: **I take care of the hall and the staircase. And my sons: do not forget to clean the windows. Am I clear?

**All together: **Hai, Sensei!

After two hours they were finally done with everything and had breakfast. The atmosphere was peaceful, everyone was calm and friendly towards each other - no sarcastic remarks, no poking, no quarrels. Truly a splendid morning, as far as Splinter concerned.

**Splinter: **Raphael, could you light the fire in the fireplace, when you're done eating? I would like to read a book in the living room.

**Raphael: **Sure, Sensei. 

**Leonardo: **Do you wish for another cup of the tea then, Sensei?

**Splinter: **That would be nice, thank you.

And so, after the breakfast, they all separated. Hours passed and the house was still surrounded by completely silence. That disturbed Raphael in a way. Alright, they behaved…but…never to this extend. After all they were still four brothers, with completely different personalities and that meant a lot of trouble. Sooner or later one did what the other did not like and the situation escalated from this point on very fast. That silence was strange. Curious at what was going on, Raphael decided to find his brothers. Besides he was bored and hopped for some entertainment. The first one he found was Mikey. His youngest sibling was lying on the bed, but he couldn't see what the little imp was doing. All he saw was a carapace.

**Raphael: **Hey, Mikey, whatcha doing?

**Michelangelo: **Oh, hi Raph. Jut reading.

**Raphael: **Which comic?

**Michelangelo: **Dude, I’m reading a book.

**Raphael: **Wait? What? A _real _book? Seriously?

**Michelangelo: **Imagine, I'm capable to.

**Raphael: **Woha, no hard feelings, lil bro, o.k.? It's just that I've never seen you with an actual book in your hand.

**Michelangelo: **True. I rarely read normal books. So yeah, no hard feelings.

**Raphael: **But hey, wouldn’t you like to go outside, for a walk or something? 

**Michelangelo: **Sorry, Raph, but this chapter is just too awesome. I really need to know what will happen next. 

**Raphael: **Fine.

He was not satisfied with that answer, since Mikey was the best option when it comes to have some real fun. He hoped to watch a movie with Donnie, but his genius brother was also reading a book; one he would never understand. Even the title was to hard to repeat. Raphael tried several times, till Donatello got fed up with him and threw him out of the barn.

**Raphael: **Why is he reading in that damn barn anyway? It's completely silent at the house.

At the end to watch a movie was also not an option, since Master Splinter was still sitting in the living room and of course, because what else, reading a book. His last hope was Leonardo and that was kind of a bitter medicine. For his only older brother fun meant to meditate, going on a patrol or train even more. But surprisingly enough he was doing none of that.

**Raphael: **Leo, what are you doing right now?

**Leonardo: **I'm going to make a cup of tea for myself and then continue reading my book. Why? Did something happen? You sound so tired? 

**Raphael: **No, nothing happened! This is just a book conspiracy! Everyone is reading a damn book, even Mikey! Do you understand? The little twerp is reading a book, not a comic, a book - a damn, fucking book!!! Everyone is reading, just reading! If that continues all three weeks, then I'm going crazy! This is the worst vacation ever! 

**Leonardo: **Raph, calm down. This is our first day at the farmhouse, we still have the full three weeks. You can't be possible that bored.

**Raphael: **Whatever! Go read your book! I'm going out. If someone is search for me: I'm in the woods and don't give a fuck about it! 

The red banded turtle stormed out of the house, leaving Leonardo alone in the hall. This situation was very troublesome, because if everybody indeed planed just reading books, then Raphael’s anger would rise from day to day and the explosion could be hurting more than just one person. But the one who will be hurt most will be the hothead himself. His regrets often gnaw at his heart and soul, leaving him empty and in the long term also lonely. Of course, he always apologizes, and his family always forgive him, but there are some things he never tells. Once he had Spike to talk to, but his pet tortoise is now gone; still there and yet not quite.

Leonardo refused to leave his brother all alone with his thoughts and troubles. By now he knew that if the problem was a small one from the outside, for his brother it could be a mountain to pass. He needed to do some preparation and the present he bought for Raphael in case of a situation like this. The only problem was that it could also makes things worse.


	3. The golden story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, this chapter comes exactly one month later than it should. My bad. But this is something that happens a lot by me, so never believe in my deadlines. As you can see it is the last chapter of this story and as promised I tried to improve. This story was my very own way to say "hello" to my most beloved season and I hope you enjoy or enjoyed reading it.

It was the 25th September and the hothead Turtle decided to skip the breakfast and go directly into the woods. He knew for a fact that he would spend the day alone anyway. Since everybody left their bedrooms there was only one topic: books. He felt excluded and that made him furious. At the beginning he was running between the trees till his lungs started to painfully burn, but right now Raphael was sitting on a tree stump, looking at his newest collection: chestnuts, acorns, rowan berries and especially beautiful leaves. He didn't really have anything else to do after all. 

**Raphael: **I wish we would had stay in New York.

With a massive pout he kicked one of the acorns, but only slightly as not to lose it. Strangely enough the turtle was even willing to take those examples of nature back home. Raphael looked at that acorn yet again – it was so small, so simple, but so beautiful in its own way. 

**Leonardo: **Than you would miss the surprise.

The leader finally spoke; with some delay of course. It was rare to see his red banded brother contemplating over such a tiny thing and maybe about the life itself. Raphael loved action; fighting especially - yet here he was all calm and peaceful, doing nothing else but thinking. And that pout, man, that was so adorable. If he would want to, Raphael could beat with that Mikey’s puppy eyes. Anyway, telling him that could mean a certain death, so Leo decided not to speak about it.

**Raphael:** Leo? What are you doing here? And…what surprise?

**Leonardo: **Well, you will see it after I’m done.

Raphael was anything but happy about his sudden guest. Even if he felt lonely, right now he wasn’t quite in the mood for talking. Additionally, Leos bright smile and the denial of a complete answer made him somehow furious.

**Raphael: **Done with what? Don’t get on my nerves!

He stood up abruptly; ready for a fight, already clenching his fists. Leo on the other hand took a step back, relaxing and lowering his shoulders to make it clear that he came in peace.

**Leonardo: **Calm down. Everything is fine. I just need a few minutes.

The blue banded turtle had a picnic basket and two blankets with him; he put one blanket on the ground, but the other aside. He tried to do everything as calmly as possible yet not to slow as not to anger his brother even more. Raphael was for a fact a very impatient turtle and his posture right now was still a very tense one.

**Raphael: **What is all of this?

**Leonardo: **Those are tuna sandwiches and there are some with strawberry marmalade. Also, some candies and hot chocolate; two different hot chocolates, actually.

When Raphael heard that his mood changed drastically. All the tension and anger left his body and he smiled as brightly as Leonardo before. He sat down near his blue banded brother and opened eagerly one of the thermos flasks. The happiness that was radiating from him was nearly touchable.

**Raphael: **White hot chocolate! Oh, and I can smell that this is the real thing. You used real chocolate and not that shitty instant powder.

Leonardo laughed cheerfully and grabbed the blanket he earlier put aside; carefully he put it over his own and his brother shoulders. Raphael was a bit surprised by that gesture but happy nevertheless, so he snuggled up to his brother's side, content with himself and the world.

**Raphael: **So, what did I do to deserve this delicious surprise?

**Leonardo:** Well, actually, this is not the surprise. I just wanted you to be as calm as possible when I give it to you.

The hothead was genuine confused. Leonardo was trying to make him a gift; so far this was sure. So, why was he afraid? The other was right now searching for something in the basket or trying to prolong the moment. Before Raphael could say something, Leo turned around and pushed something directly into his palms. It was…a Book!

**Raphael: **Are you serious? Are you fucking serious! A BOOK!!!

Before he could leave the warm cocoon the leader grabbed his arm and held him tightly on place. The other tried to get free and was even ready to punch his brother to do so. But then Raphael saw Leos expression; the blue of his eyes so deep and sad.

**Leonardo:** Come on, little brother. At least let me explain. If you don't like my idea, then we will forget the whole thing and just enjoy the picnic.

**Raphael: **Promise?

**Leonardo: **Promise.

Having seemingly no other choice Raphael sat down again but avoided the snuggle. Leo however did not like this and pulled the younger one almost into his lap.

**Raphael: **Will you stop that?

**Leonardo:** Never. No matter what you do, you will stay my little brother forever.

**Raphael: **Oh, really?

He grinned devilishly and poured himself another cup of hot white chocolate.

**Raphael: **I could ask Donnie for some experiment, involving a rejuvenation potion or something like that.

Leonardo was shocked; not because Raphael thought of something like that, but because his genius brother was indeed capable to create such a mixture. Now he couldn't decide if he was scared or proud of Donnie. The other turtle however misunderstood this sudden state of stiffness as fear.

**Raphael:** Easy there, bro. I would never do that to you. Especially because I wouldn't want to change your diapers.

Hearing that Leonardo snapped out of his trance.

**Leonardo: **Raph, we never had diapers. 

**Raphael:** Really? But, were we not making then a mess till...you know...we got housebroken?

Silence. A long and uncomfortable silence stretched around them. And while the red banded turtle looked and his brother with certain naive curiosity, the blue banded one was near slapping him. But then he couldn't contain himself and burst into laughter.

**Leonardo:** Hahaha, oh boy! Raph, we are mutated turtles. Even as infants we were able to walk and swim. We never needed diapers. Or is there something you would like to tell me, hmm?

The scarlet blush on Raphael’s face was evidence enough, but Leo waited the answer anyway.

**Raphael: **I...I had once a little accident. Just once, o.k.! And I swear if you tell someone your end will be very painful. And now give me that damn book and explain finally what you want me to do.

**Leonardo: **You have the book already and of course I would like you to read it.

**Raphael:** Or rather make me a book-zombie, like the rest of you. 

**Leonardo: **Don't pout, Raphie. Just read the title.

Raphael carefully eyed the books cover; it was mostly black, with golden letters and a big picture in the middle. The picture showed mountains with a waterfall in the background. In the foreground two people, a man clothed in brown and a woman clothed in white, where crossing a natural stone bridge. On the left and the right side of the bridge many pine trees where standing, indicating a forest.

**Raphael: **The Sword of Truth; Wizard´s first rule, by Terry Goodkind.

**Leonardo: **It is a series with over eleven books. If I am not wrong, there are in total sixteen that complete the whole story. It is a fantasy epos and the main character should be to your very likening. Look, I know that you are not the biggest fan of reading, but that can be the case because you never had the right book in your hands. Believe me, when I say that there is nothing better than a good book and a cup of hot chocolate on an autumn day.

Raphael laughed silently and then turned to Leo, once again with a bright smile. His big brother was trying his best to make him feel loved and cared for. Maybe this wasn't his favorite solution or one he would choice by himself, but he was willing to give it a chance.

**Raphael: **You mean a good book, a cup of hot chocolate, a warm blanket and a brother as company.

**Leonardo:** Hehe, yes. That the most perfect scenario.

After this they snuggled closer to each other and started to read theirs books, while...of course...drinking hot chocolate. Only when it got too cold to even sit under a blanket, they collected their belongings and returned home. As previously decided, Raphael took all the chestnuts, acorns, rowan berries and leaves with him. Being in a rare good mood he invited his whole family to join him on handicraft chestnuts and acorns people or horses. All they needed were some matches and they had lots of them.

At the end of the day, they had lots of different creations; even necklaces made of rowan berries on threads. And when it was time to go to bed, Raphael took his book eager to continue with the reading. Seeing this made Leonardo one hell of a proud big brother. This mission was accomplished. Tomorrow he will read his book and snuggle with Raphael again. Maybe Mikey and Donnie will join them. That would be nice.


End file.
